Sanitary drinking-fountain.



P. MUELLER.

SANITARY DRINKING FOUNTAIN.

APPLICATION FILED MAY I1. 1912.

Patented Oct. 19, 1915.

awe Mow Phi/1p Mueller coLulmA PLANOURAPH Cu.. WAsmNa'roN. n. c.

' PHILIP MU LLER; or DECATUR, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO II. MUELLER. MFG/ca, or

DECATUR, ILLInoIs, A CORPORATION or ILLINOIS.

sANI'I'nItY DRINKING- OUNTAIN.

To all whom it'may concern Be it known that I, PHILIP Miami, a

- citizen of the United States, residin'g'at Decatur, in the county of Macon and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful' lmprovements in Sanitary Drinking-Fountains, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to drinking fountains, and has for its. object to provide a nozzle for suchgfountains that may be installed in schools, public buildings, hospitals, and like places,'where'it can beattached to a service fitting having'suitable means provided for catching the overflow water. z I

This inventionis designed primarily to protect the nipple from which the drinking stream flows from containinati on'by the users' lips when drinking. This object 1s others, possibly-those having a communi accomplished by surrounding the drinking stream at suitable distance'therefrom With protecting wall or curtain of water, preferably concentric with the drinking stream,

discharging. upwardly from a suitable outlet at or below the plane "of the nozzle outlet and at such a height that if a person while drinking attempts to p'utlhis lips on the nozzle the water forming the protecting wall or curtain will fiow into'hisface and nose causing great inconvenience and disagreeable, but not harmful, results;

Heretofore stationary drinking fountains have been made from which a draft of water may be obtained without the use of a cup or other vessel, but in all these devices, so far as known,'the user is required to put hislips against a part of the fountain onwhich cable disease, have applied their lips, or. the water for drinkingfiows through a bodyof water contained in 'a stationary cup or bowl larger than the water inlet pipe over the 'edge of which cup or bowl the water escapes. V

v Such stationary cups or bowls are objectionable, as they are liable'to contain decaying vegetable or animal matter, orother disagreeable or deleterious substances accidentally or maliciously thrown therein. There are other drinking fountains which consist of a central nozzle from which exudes a smalldrinking stream which nozzle the user is prevented from touching with his lips by a funnel or similarly shaped bowl surrounding the same; by upwardly or in wardly projected tubes, surmounted with Specification of Letters Patent. Pat t 0 .19, 1915', 1 Application filednayil, 191a s ri nvae9ae95. i i

ring sothat the drinkerslips will'be kept his face or hands are almost sure to touch some one or more of the parts intended to keep the users lips from'touching the drinking nozzle.

The main feature of the invention, as stated, is to protect the drinking stream nozzle'fromcontact with the users face and hands by means of a concentric wallor curtain of water projected upwardly to a less height, than that reachedv by the drinking stream" and directed vertically or with an outward or inward inclination. In any case,

this protecting wall or 'ci'irtain will flow into the users' face if he attempts totouch the nozzle with his lips. v With this asth'e'principal object in view, the invention consists of the novel combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through one form ofdrinking stream nozzle illustratingmy invention. Fig. 2 is a similar view of a modification. 7

In the drawings, A indicates the casing ofa drinking fountain nozzle shown in the present instance as formed with a substantial spherical head 10'on the upper end of a reduced neck 11 designed to be connected in. any suitable way to a pipe conveying drinking water and preferably provided with a cut-off or cook of any well-known type familiar to all skilled in the art and therefore not necessary to illustrate.

Centrally disposed within the casing A is a tube. 12 extending'upwardly therein and through anopening 13 in the top of the head 10, through which tube the drinking stream flows upward to a proper height to enter the mouth of a drinker without danger of his mouth touching any part of the nozzle unless by special-effort on his part. Surrounding the upper end of the drinking tube 12 is an 1-enlargement ll integraltherewith as in Fig l or adjustable thereon as at 14c in Fig.2, in either instance, the outer edge 1 orxperiphery of the enlargement is spaced fromvthe wall of the opening 14:, a suflicient distance to for-in a thin circular slit 1500mmunicating withthe interior of the casing, through which slit an annular stream of 'water flows upwardlyaround the drinking stream but to a-less height. The object of this stream is to wet'the face and flow into the nose and. eyes of a drinker should he lower his head while drinking sufficiently farto touch thenozzle with his lips or other part of his face. The circular slit 15 'is made. preferably with a slightflare, either outwardlyas shown or inwardly, ifdesired, to direct the protecting stream toward the drinking stream, or the slit may extend vertically and the protecting stream be parallel to the drinking stream. 7 p

The tenuity and height of the protecting stream may be constant, in which case the nozzlewill'be-arranged as in Fig, 1, or this stream may be regulated by making the enlargement 146 Fig. 2, in the form of a sleeve vand screwing on the drinking stream tube 12. By turning the sleeve it will move up ,or

down on the tube 12 and owing tothe inclination'of the walls of the slit 15, the width of said slit will be changed and thus the thiclmess of the stream and its force will be altered as is evident." A nozzle thus con structed When applied to a service pipe will 7 fillwith water when the latter is turned on,

some of which will flow out through the pipe 12 in a solid drinking stream and some from the casing through the thin slit 15 in the form ofan annular curtain to protect the nozzlefrom contact withothe mouth of careless or heedless drinkers. i

What I claim"is,, V

1;. A drinkin .fountain, nozzle provided with a substantially spherical hollow head with an opening in the top: thereof, 'a tube having an uninterrupted bore for the flow ofthe drinking stream disposediwithin said Copies of this patent may "be obtained 1301' head and having an enlarged upper end within the opening in the hollow spherical head of a size to) formg'ajnarrow annular passage communicating with the hollow head to emit an independent protecting cur-V tain of water? surrounding the drinking stream and wholly separ a-tedtherefrom'.

'2. A- drinkin fountain nozzle provided with a substantlally spherical hollow head,

a tube for the drinking stream disposed in said head, passages for dischargeof a protecting curta-in of watersurrounding; said 7 V (lI'lIlklIlgSllI'QZLIH tube, and means ad uStably mounted on the drinking stream tube for regulating the" water curtain; c 3. A drinking fountain nozzle provided with a substantially spherical hollow head with an outwardly flaring opening through the top, thereof, a tube'having an uninter:

stream and directed away therefrom so i as not to coalescetherewith;

:4. A drinl'ring' fountain nozzle 'prbtidui' with a substantially spherical hollow'head E,

withjan opening in lthe top thereof, a tube having an uninterrupte'd'bore for the flow of the drinkingfstreain disposed within' said headand having an enlarged'upper fiend within thefiopening in the hqn'qw spherical Q a 8'5 I head of a Size to form anar'row annular pas? sage communicating with the hollow head and having an outwardly and upwardly flarjing peripheral walltoemit an independent protecting curtain of water, surroundingthe drinking stream, and diverging outwardlyv therefrom s p In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand presence fJt osu'bscribing wit-f nesses .7 v

. PHILIP MUELLER."

Witnessesi' Y WILLIAM RB'IDDLE',

fivezcents ea'ch byiadflressing the Commissioner of i atents Washington,D.G. a 

